Soul & Smoke opens groundbreaking spot in Evanston
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Wife and husband Heather Bublick and D'Andre Carter serve their beef cheek at a James Beard event this summer. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
This week, barbecue and hospitality masters D'Andre Carter and Heather Bublick launched their long-awaited, first full-service Soul & Smoke in a former Evanston barn.
Why it matters: This latest addition to the Soul & Smoke brand on Payne Street comes with a bunch of delightful firsts when it comes to local barbecue. Here are some of them:
Sustainable meat: The restaurant is using Niman Ranch meat for most of its dishes, a rarity in the barbecue world and one that requires farmers to follow specific humane, environmental and sustainability practices.
Art galore: The airy restaurant in North Evanston is filled with striking murals and paintings by local artists including JC Rivera, Bianca Pastel and Hebru Brantly.
Molecular gastronomy: Bublick and Carter met while working at modernist restaurant Moto and they pay homage to the late Homaro Cantu with a "cigar" made of hickory smoked oxtail wrapped in collard greens and dipped in seasoned sesame ash. Fantastic!
A high-low experience: Soul & Smoke will serve its main menu of soul food and barbecue favorites all day but offer fine dining in the main dining room for dinner each night.
Zoom out: The new location joins Soul & Smoke's counter-service outlets in Avondale and the West Loop.
What they're saying: "We want this to be a space for the whole community," Bublick tells Axios. "I want people to be able to dine together, whether they're coming for a rib tip combo or a full special anniversary or birthday dinner."